A brilliant second round effort of six under par 66 saw Mark James take control of the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship at the halfway stage.
The former Ryder Cup Captain leads fellow Englishman Paul Eales by three strokes at the Stoke by Nayaland Hotel, Golf & Spa in East Anglia after a late birdie blitz saw him soar clear on the clubhouse leaderboard.
James started his second round on the tenth and after three birdies and a single bogey in his opening 13 holes was in a tie for the lead. He then burst into life to deliver four birdies in a row between the fifth and eighth holes before dropping a shot on the par three ninth.
Despite ending the day with a bogey, James was delighted with his day’s work.
“I played really nicely today,” said James. “I actually played pretty well yesterday too which is a little surprising as I haven’t played much golf recently but it is very welcome.
“We have been waiting for the season to really get going on the Senior Tour and it feels good to be back out there competing again. I have been in the gym a bit and getting prepared for the summer so it is nice to make such a positive start.”
Eales carded a three under par 69 to move into second place on the clubhouse leaderboard, with five players – Luis Carbonetti, Gary Emerson, Gordon Manson, Jean-Pierre Sallat, Jerry Smith and Jamie Spence all lying four shots behind James midway through round two.
